regroup

So that goal of completing a 365 project isn't going to happen this year. What was I thinking? It's too much, at least for this year. That's not to say I don't ever want to try it again. I'd love to accomplish taking a picture every day for 365 days. Maybe next year. 

I haven't even kept up with my blog like I would like to. I think my problem is I want to do too much. I need to keep it simple and just aim for posting at least once a week, not five times a week. Okay, moving on.

Today will be a story about what happened this morning with this guy. 

This morning, P's preschool had their annual Fiesta Day with a float parade to kick off the day. We made a float, and by we, I mean me. He did pick out what to put on it, but I did the hot gluing. P was pretty excited about it and was walking around the house with it before we left for school. Then we got to the actual parade site. And that he doesn't like so much. It's loud. There are lots of people, and the attention falls to him. P does not care for these situations very much at all. His teachers tried to coax him into walking his float. I tried. And when I tried, he picked his up float off the floor and shook it around in protest. Well, we sat out at that point. Here's the thing. I don't care if he doesn't want to march his float around in the parade. I really don't. It's just a preschool Fiesta parade, and if doesn't want to, then that's cool. Except I felt embarrassed and frustrated. And I hate that. 

After the commotion of the parade, P went about his day and had a super fun time with all the Fiesta activities the preschool plans and puts on for the kids. 

I thought about the morning and P not wanting to march in the parade, and had an epiphany of sorts. Why was I upset? Why did I care? 

I don't like that attention either. Just like my 4-year-old, I'd rather not have that. And that is so totally okay. I so want to know what my boys thrive on. It's also really important to understand what makes them shut down. Now, I'm not saying that they should totally be sheltered from what makes them uncomfortable. Sometimes they'll just have to deal, and that's life. But I don't want them to feel like their personality traits are some type of shortcoming. So, this morning was a sort of lesson for me. I already knew all this deep down, but it's good to organize my thoughts about all this.

Let me also just say that P has the most wonderful teacher, and she, along with a couple other teachers, smiled and said nice things this morning. I love that preschool and those awesome teachers. 

After thinking about all that today, I ran across a book called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. The book sounds fascinating to me. As much as I like to talk and be social, I think I may be more of an introvert than not. Same goes for my boys. I'm interested to see what insight this book provides to better understanding introverts. I also watched this video, in which the author makes some good points. I'm looking forward to reading this. Does anyone else lean towards being an introvert?

Day 8, sort of

day 8 | 1.8.2013 | favorites

I did not take a photo today that I wanted to use for this project. Since this is my 365 project, I get to devise the rules, right? I am going back to 2012 for day 8. This will be something I will be doing throughout this project, which takes some pressure off taking a picture every day. It also allows me to catch up.

These are some of my favorites from 2012.

(The stuff on his forehead is "glue" to help close a cut he had from a fall. The brown stuff is paint.)

My goodness, C looks like a total almost pre-teen to me in this picture.

Day 6 and Day 7

day 6  | 1.6.2013 | date night

What is there to say about date night? It's always great!

day 7 | 1.7.2013 | new book

I started this new book and hope to follow along with this book club.

Day 5

This morning P and I had the please eat standoff. Lord help me, this is pretty much a daily occurrence. Good thing is, he usually does eat. And if this is one of my biggest worries on a daily basis, I'll gladly take it. 

Day 4

Comfy, Zoe?

I really enjoy having her around. She's so sweet and smart. She's like a big kid and loves the boys. Of course, the boys love her. I have to say that Zoe is a bit of a mama's girl, and I don't mind at all.

 

Day 3 - January 3, 2013

Today was a lazy day at home for us. I went upstairs to hang out with the boys and witnessed a battle of epic proportions between modern day animals and dinosaurs. Of course, no battle of this magnitude would be complete without all sorts of spit-producing, fighting sound effects. The photo does not convey the sound effects but trust me, I felt them. It was an intense scene. 

I love the way they play. It's so fun and innocent. There is no lack of imagination, including made-up rules, make-believe worlds and a variety of scenarios. The best part is hearing, "Mommy, watch this!" countless times. 
 

2013 and 365

It's been a long time since I have posted to my blog, way longer than I would like. As I was looking back through old posts and catching up on organizing pictures (which I'm way behind on also), I am so thankful for the pictures and words and how they have captured memories that are absolutely precious to me. Memories that I hope my boys will also cherish.

In 2013, I will focus on taking pictures of people and things that are beautiful to me and let go of taking technically good photos. As a motivator, my goal for this year is to participate in my own 365 project. 

And here we go.

Day 1 - January 1, 2013
Sometimes they read with their lights after we say goodnight and are super about watching the clock and turning them off at an agreed upon time.

Day 2 - January 2, 2013

I cheated a bit here. These are actually photos from yesterday. I loved them too much not to use them. They show love and personality. 

Nana and Papa came to visit yesterday. C is giving Nana a thank you hug for his Christmas gift. P is playing with his connectagons gift, which he says is "awesome." Thank you Nana and Papa!

Happy 2013! May the new year be full of blessings and much joy. 

beach fun!

The beach is one place we really look forward to taking the boys every summer! This year, we actually went twice - once to Galveston with Nana and Papa and the other to Port Aransas. The boys absolutely love it! It's just the perfect place to play. This year C and L enjoyed getting in the water. Baby P enjoyed it also, as long as he was in either Mommy or Daddy's arms. All 3 loved the sand! In Galveston, there was this hole that somebody before us had dug, and that was a favorite of the boys!

Here's that hole I was talking about.

L was fascinated by this seaweed.

   
I decided not to take my camera to Port A...less to pack. We left early one Saturday and spent one night. The boys, especially C, were excited about staying in a hotel! Here are some pictures I took with my iPhone. I didn't get pictures of this, but the boys found sticks when we first got there, and they played light saber wielding Jedis with them.

It was so, so nice to get to go on our mini vacations! I'm already looking forward to our next one.



Building with Daddy

One day, we were walking through Lowe's and saw these bird house and feeder kits on sale. Naturally, we bought 3 for our boys to do. A few weeks later they got to build them with their Daddy. They loved it! Well, what's not to love about spending time with your Daddy and getting to use tools?!

  
The boys painted their projects, then hung all 3 in different spots in the backyard. We bought birdseed for cardinals/ songbirds, and sure enough we've spotted, among many other birds, Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal (what we call the male and female cardinals that hang out around here) on the feeders enjoying the seeds.

 

Somebody is 1!

Our sweet niece, E, turned one at the end of June! Poor C was sick, so I was just me and L at her party. I felt horrible we all couldn't go but it was nice to have some one on one with L. It's something he rarely gets, so "dates" like this with him are nice.

My Bday and Father's Day

Summer is just about over, all except for the ridiculous heat. I'm so thankful we have air conditioning everywhere we go! I truly enjoyed the summer, more than I thought I would and was a little sad to see it end. My Cman has started 1st grade, and my 2 little guys start preschool in 2 weeks. 

In June, I celebrated my 33rd birthday. We went to eat dinner at ZTejas and then had my very favorite chocolate cake from La Madeline. That cake is to die for! I wish a had a picture of it. But here is something even better, at least I think so, a picture of me and my sweet guys.

I love how the above 2 pictures just show each boy doing their own thing, L unwrapping his silverware and C so intrigued by the activity in the kitchen. It's these little moments that I love to remember. I truly have so much more than I could ask for or deserve. I am so blessed!    

Later that same weekend, we celebrated Father's Day. My husband is the love of my life. I've known him for 19 years! I can't imagine life without him. He is such a great father and fulfills that ever important role for our boys in a way that I'm unable to, and I love that.


That bag that C is holding is full of peanuts. We went to Logan's to eat lunch, and the boys were so entertained by the peanuts! It kept them (especially Baby P) busy for a long time. I'll have to remember that.

And here is my brother and I with our wonderful Dad!



The whole family-


We also got to spend time with my cutie patootie of a niece, who is now 1 year old!

And one more, just for fun.

  

Love it!